About

Ashlee is Mama of one darling boy. A 28 week early bird, now 1 and some change, doing beautifully. She lives near Chicago with her sweetheart husband and French Bulldog. She's a thinker not afraid to get her silly on. Babywearer, veggie queen, photography nut. Before the domestic days Ashlee was pursuing a future in developmental psychology but has happily shifted gears in favor of staying at home and couldn't imagine doing anything else. In her free time (ha!) you can find her whipping up babyslings, holding down the fort at Mama Speaks and spotlighting as an Itsy Bitsy Yoga Instructor.

It's not about the turkey. Or the football. Or the inevitable argument over dinner. Or keeping the kids away from your creepy Uncle who only comes around once or twice a year. It's not even about the Pilgrims and Indians and that whole debacle - because when you really think about it, that's just all kinds of horrible.

It is however, a day to give thanks. To reflect and be grateful. In the past my thanks has been a bit generic, well meant, but generic nonetheless ("I'm grateful for family and friends, and freedom, blah, blah, blah") This year's different and I have LOTS to be thankful for.

I am thankful for life. And hope. And faith. And answered prayers. And community. And purpose. And most of all life.

I was content a year ago. I had a baby growing in my tummy, a loving husband, a supportive family. We were buying a house and gearing up for the holidays and happily sailing through life. And then that baby growing in my tummy decided it was time to see this big world with his own eyes a bit too soon. For the first time I was faced head on with life - brand new, never took a breath kind of life, and all the glory that brings. At the same time we faced the possibility that this new life, this little human we branded Xavier wouldn't be around very long. That life would become death before we had a chance to process the wonder of it all.

So we did the only thing we could- we hoped, and we prayed and we had no choice but to surrender our faith. Of course we prayed for our child to live, prayers both selfish and optimistic. We prayed that if he didn't live that somehow what little life he'd had was with purpose and left it's mark in this world. And we soon discovered that we weren't alone, that people across the continent, across the world really. Friends of friends of friends and people we didn't know were praying for our boy. For His boy. That households and entire churches had set aside time for little Xavier.

And through it all X fought. Through those first days and weeks and the 11 and 1/4 months that have followed he has taught me more about life and the will to live than I could ever put into words. Seeing someone so small, so fragile, so innocent determined to live against all odds changes the way you look at the world. It brings people together. It changes everything. And for that I am thankful.